The present invention relates to a new and improved circuit arrangement containing a wire matrix for signal transmission in elevator installations or the like.
In its more specific aspects, the invention relates to a new and improved circuit arrangement containing a wire matrix for signal transmission in elevator installations in which a matrix-shaped arrangement of conductors or lines can be controlled by means of line and column driving circuits or drivers via opto-couplers connected to a control unit, whereby peripheral signal transmitters and peripheral signal receivers can be connected to a central signal processing system or station. In elevator installations such arrangements serve as a transmitter apparatus for the acquisition of data by means of the elevator control serving, for example, for cabin and storey calls as well as call acknowledgement or receipting and signalling in the elevator cabin and at the storeys of the building.
The invention is based on the recognition that by using a matrix-shaped conductor or line arrangement the electronic and installational expense for connecting signal sources and signal receiving locations can be strongly reduced. Thus, for example, by using an 8 by 8-matrix including just sixteen driving channels for each of the eight column and line conductors, sixty-four intersection or crossing points can be selectively controlled. But also in the optical representation of information or data, matrix-shaped, partially mutually orthogonally aligned conductor or line arrangements can achieve cost savings with respect to electronics and connecting lines. It was therefore obvious, particularly in elevator installations in which the expense for the electronics, the installation and the required space are substantially determined by the logic inputs as well as by the signalling system, to utilize the matrix concept.
Matrix-shaped conductor arrangements as known, for example, from German Patent Publication No. 2,422,246 and its cognate U.S. Pat. No. 3,898,611, granted Aug. 5, 1975 and German Pat. No. 2,422,248 and its cognate U.S. Pat. No. 3,882,447, granted May 6, 1975, serve in elevator installations to activate the position indicators in elevator cabins as well as the signalling lamps positioned at the storeys. In both of the aforementioned known matrix-shaped conductor arrangements the indicator or display lamps for the individual storeys are arranged at the intersection or crossing points of a matrix, the lines and columns of which are each connected to a driving circuit or driver to which there is selectively applied the corresponding position or indicator signal. Preferably, a distinct group of storeys of a building is associated with each line conductor and a distinct storey in a group is associated with each column conductor. With such a circuit arrangement what is disadvantageous is that such circuit arrangement is merely suited for unidirectional signal transmission from the elevator control to the cabin or to the storeys, as the case may be. For signal transmission in reverse direction as would be required, for example, for detecting cabin and storey calls, an additional and separate wire matrix would be required together with the associated driving electronics and the corresponding connecting lines. By merely doubling the transmission paths using two matrixes, however, the cost reduction with respect to electronics and installation which is based on the matrix concept no longer can be optimally used. The invention intends to redress this condition and shortcomings.